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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

"Compassion" will be screened on Oct 3 at 2pm at the Beacon Community Center, and on Oct 6 at 8pm at the Beahive.

Art21, the Peabody Award winning series of documentaries on art and artists in the 21st Century is coming 'round again for its fifth season in October.

Since 1997, each Art21 season features a handful of themed hour-long episodes that present segments on three or four artists, in their own words, describing the nature their work and the issues behind it.

This season's 4 episodes are organized around the the four themes of Compassion, Fantasy, Transformation and Systems.

Over the years, the scope of Art21 has developed and amazing set of educational material and programs around the documentaries. As the featured artists respond to and incorporate various political, social and personal issues into their work, The material has the position of demonstrating how to use art as a tool for their student's comprehension in all other subjects. Additionally, the Art21 blog features a rotation of invited guest bloggers to chronicle aspects of the artworld most significant to them. Daniel Fuller , a former Beacon resident, who is now the Senior Program Specialist at the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative was one of the guest bloggers over the Summer.

An initiative that has grown over the past two seasons Art21's program of Access Events where the program teams up with institutions and groups internationally to host preview screenings and events to accompany the series on PBS.

Several screenings are planned in the Hudson Valley including Newburgh, New Paltz and Kingston.

I have scheduled Preview screenings of Episode 1 (Compassion) on Oct 3 at 2pm and Episode 2 (Fantasy) on Oct 10 at 4pm both at the Beacon Community Center at 23 W Center St.

The Beacon Art Salon and the Beahive will be screening Episode 1 on Oct 6 at 8pm.

Episode 1 "Compassion" highlights the work of Carrie Mae Weems, Doris Salcedo and William Kentridge.

Beacon has a rare distinction for a city of its size as it has had ties to many of the artists who have been highlighted in the documentaries over the years through the presence in town of Dia, Minetta Brook, Tallix and the Beacon Cultural Foundation. In the case of the episodes we'll be screening at the BCC, Jeff Koons who's in episode 2 had many of his highly polished steel sculptures fabricated in Beacon at Tallix. The Beacon Cultural Project brought Carrie Mae Weems, of episode 1, to Beacon for an exhibit at the Beacon Project Space in 2002 and supported a project by her that was conceived as a series of interviews in a Main St storefront called the Record Shop, and concluded, in 2005, in an exhibit for the BCF in the Library Gallery of Bulldog Studios called Sited for the Record.

"Fantasy" will be screened on Oct 10 at 4pm at the Beacon Community Center.

This event is part of Art21 Access ‘09, a celebration of contemporary art and Season 5 of Art:21-Art in the Twenty-First Century sponsored by Art21. Art21 Access 09 is held at over 300 museums, schools, libraries, art spaces, and community centers and is organized in collaboration with Americans for the Arts’ National Arts and Humanities Month. Visit art21.org for more information.

The Garrison Art Center hosted an exhibition closing artist talk and performance as part of the Plastic Waves exhibition by Susan English and Jaanika Peerna. The performance portion of the event was presented by Jane Thornquist.

Garrison Art Center also hosted a painter's and writer's workshop on Saturday...missed that. However, they have announced their new schedule of classes, so you can visit their website to view that. And on Friday, Oct 2 at 8pm, GAC will be hosting a benefit comedy performance Emily Levine at the Depot Theatre. GAC will be holding an auction on Oct 3 too, so check that out.

Joseph Bertolozzi gave a talk on his Bridge Music at Elant in Fishkill on Friday the 24th. Joe will be awarded a 2009 Dutchess County Executive Arts Award at a ceremony on October 28 in Poughkeepsie. Linda Hubbard of RiverWinds and BACA will be receiving a special citation at the same ceremony.

Hudson Beach Glass opened a new exhibit on Saturday evening called Beacon on Fire. The group show featuring work by Emil Alzamora,Tom Holmes, Rudy Mendoza, Jill Reynolds, Rosalind Schneider, Stephen Spaccarelli and Leigh Li-Yun Wen will be on view through Nov 15.

The Dorsky Museum in New Paltz announced a program of talks and a symposium to accompany the museum's ongoing Art and the River project. The first event was a lecture on Sept 23 by professor emeritus of Geology at New Paltz, Gill Brenner.

Greg Miller delivered a presentation on Saturday at G.A.S. in Poughkeepsie as part of the Bridging The Hudson exhibit there. Upcoming events include presentations on Oct 10 at 1-3pm by Dick Crenson and Oct. 17 at 1-3 by Joseph Bertolozzi.

Karlos Carcamo is taking part in an exhibit, along with Barbara Weissberger and Nicholas Kashian, called Mirror on Mirror Mirrored at Dean Project in LIC, which opened on Sept 19 and will run through Nov 19. You can also check out images from this show on Karlos' blog where you can also find images from his current show at MARTE Contemporaneo in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Tony Moore's work is included in an exhibit called Out of the Anagama: Kilnmasters and Stokers at Vessels Gallery in Boston. The show opened on Sept 26 and will run through Oct 18. Tony will be giving a gallery talk on Sunday, October 11 at 2pm.

Finally, Gary Jacketti has been exporting the work of many Beacon artists to Stone Harbor NJ all Summer. Gary spends every Summer down on the Shore, and this year opened up a gallery called Beacon Art Shortwave Gallery to eat up any leisure time he might have otherwise had. With the season closing down, so too will the gallery until next Summer.

Virtually everywhere I went, I encountered this baby stroller woman, let's call her "Kathy Feighery" and her adorable daughter whom we'll simply refer to as "Tess". I swear she was intentionally following me. She did it so well that her arrival in a location actually preceeded mine...very clever. There was an episode of South Park where Ginger kids (a term I had never heard) run amok, led by the character Cartman. Obviously, I was starting to get nervous.

Stephen Dickens and friends krafting sound at the BOS after party at Spire Studios.

Indeed.

Kudos to Theresa Gooby in pulling this off, with the assisstance of BACA, and other helpers. My impression is that it was very successful over all. Saturday seemed awash with visitors and Sunday featured a steady stream of people despite the threatening rain.

A survey is being prepared to collect the feedback from artists which will shape the event next year. And indeed, there will be an event next year, Theresa's already laying out her approach.

If anyone has any thoughts, any input from the weekend and what they saw, throw down some comments here.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I was struck by a strange sensation shortly after entering the Beacon Open Studios kickoff party/opening reception tonight. I suddenly had the sense that for the first time in a very long time, I was seeing a whole bunch of familiar faces all together in one place. This isn't a great accomplishment seeing as I simply don't make it out like I used to, but it was a crazy vibe and it felt different somehow. I then realized that part of that vibe came from standing in a crowded Van Brunt Gallery of another time. With the same intense power a familiar scent has to thrust one back into the past, being in that space with a crowd had the effect of taking me back to VBG openings of yore, What a heavy retro feel and a good one too. I wasn't the only one; this same feeling was commented on by several of the other old farts I spoke to. It was refreshing, and I got a little buzzed from it

I've been feeling indifferent to heading out to openings around town over the past year. Not to knock the efforts of any of the joints that are exhibiting in town recently, but I'm just burnt out. I'm just not feeling it that much anymore. I've been wondering if time has come to pack up this blog. I haven't fully resolved that question for myself, but I've begun pulling back and trying to devote more time to offline studio endeavors, and perhaps shift the focus of what I write about here, when I write. Everything must run its course, and change is mighty fine, even as it makes you pang for what you miss. I'm loathe to admit my vulnerability for nostalgia, and I'm sure what I felt tonight was unadulterated nostalgia (I'm cringing as I'm writing this), but what I think is great about this is that the group show on the walls in this space and the opening itself teased out that sense of a gathered community which isn't as easy to achieve now as just a couple of years back when this community was much smaller.

It was pretty cool. I think I'm ready for Carl to move back into his old space.

Where Carl used to sit.

Anyway, I'm very interested to see how this open studio weekend shapes up. Theresa Gooby's strategy of splitting the event up over two days definitely has its pros and cons but it's an assertive approach to tackling the specific challenges of such an event, and one that hasn't been tried yet, and I like that. While this structure could prove problematic for visitors from out of town who will have only a portion of the studios available to them on a single day trip, I respect the benefit of giving resident artists a chance to visit at least some of their neighbors studios. It's good to give the dancing monkeys a little entertainment for themselves whilst taking a break from mugging for the tourists. Kudos to Theresa for pulling this together in the manner she has, and also to BACA and the Newburgh Art Supply and ZUZU's for sponsoring the event. Now comes the real test.

Visit the Beacon Open Studios blog for the full overview. Tomorrow from 10-4 pm, studios on the East end of town will be open, and the West enders will be open on Sunday from 11-4 (Today's Poughkeepsie Journal article had the schedule reversed.) BOS HQ will be open all weekend long at 460 Main St.

Spire Studios will be hosting the BOS closing party on Sunday beginning at 5pm.

For those coming into town on Sunday, take note that the Spirit of Beacon Parade will be happening that day (weather allowing) and traffic patterns will be affected on 9D and along Main St. until late afternoon.

Friday, September 25, 2009

This week's selection comes from Vernissage TV. Vernissage TV is your proxy at openings and exhibitions from around Europe and the US. Occasionally, the videos feature interviews with curators and artists, but generally, it simply presents you with the sites and sounds of a given moment in time. This footage of Thomas Feuerstein's exhibit Planet Paradies at 401contemporary in Berlin is rare in that the nature of the work makes this video more eyecandiesh than most of the others.
I couldn't embed the video, so here's a link.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

If you like talking, and if you like listening to talking, then Thursday is your day.

The habitat at Old Main Circle on the SUNY New Paltz Campus.

The Dorsky Museum will be hosting a Habitat for Artists round table panel discussion which will relate to the ongoing HFA project that has located several mini artist residencies in structures around the city of New Paltz. The discussion will be moderated by Wall Street Journal writer Wendy Bounds and will include artists Simon Draper, Mercedes Cecilla, Sarah Haviland, Todd Sargood, curators Brian Wallace of the Dorsky Museum and Amy Lipton of ecoartspace, Shari Osborne, Trustee, Village of New Paltz and Richard Heyl de Ortiz, Director Historic Huguenot Street, New Paltz.

This discussion will kick of at 7pm in the museum.

Also on Thursday night, I'll be among six Beacon artists who will be discussing various aspects of our work at the Barrett Art Center's monthly Artist Salon series which takes place the final Thursday of every month. I'll be discussing the kork project space. Also speaking on Thursday are Steve Rossi, Peter Iannarelli, Jim Zellinger, Kirsten Kucer and Lee Price. The salon starts at 7pm. The Barrett Art Center is located at 55 Noxon Ave in Poughkeepsie.

I received a note last week from Tyler Emerson-Dorsch. Tyler is co-owner with her husband Brook of the Dorsch Gallery in Miami. One of the three exhibits currently on view at the gallery features the work of Woodstock artist Peter Barrett. Tyler's note was my introduction to the broad and trippy work of Barrett.

Coincidentally, on the same day and from a different source, I received a call for entries for an exhibit that Tyler is jurying at the art gallery at Broward College in Davie Fl. This is a national call, open to artists 18 and over, for artwork interpreting the theme Vertigo.

Submission fee is $35 and the submission deadline has been extended to OCT 2.

For your convenience, I've saved the information/submission form as a google document here.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Nine of the some sixteen artists featured in HVCCA's exhibit Double Dutch will be speaking tonight at the museum in Peekskill from 6 - 7:30 pm tonight. HVCCA is located at 1701 Main St. in Peekskill. The artists participating tonight are; Martha Colburn, Fendry Ekel, Job Koelewijn, Maartje Korstanje, Alon Levin, Serge Onnen, Daan Padmos, Jennifer Tee and Rob Voerman.

In other Dutch artist news, the Muroff Kotler Gallery at the SUNY Ulster Community College is hosting an exhibit through Sept 25 called Verbindingen featuring work by Willem Bergert, Greta Cune, Marit Kik, Janus Eijnden, Helma Kujper, Pe Okx and Marja Vieugel..

Friday, September 11, 2009

Attention 'round here at Kamp Maykr has been focused* on getting ready for the upcoming Beacon Open Studios. I'm participating in the BOS on Sunday the 27 and I'll have a couple of guest artists creating special work around this here joint, like Peter Iannarelli, Peter Acheson, Elia Gurna, Marc Schriebman and perhaps one or two others.

In honor of opening one's inner sanctum to the public, this week's ECF gives us a brief peek into Richard Tuttle's studio as seen through the lens of Art 21.

On a related note, Season 5 of Art 21 will be broadcast this October. I've arranged for preview screenings of two of the four episodes (Episode 1: Compassion, and Episode 2: Fantasy) at the Beacon Community Center. The screenings are scheduled for Saturday Oct 3 and Saturday Oct 10 at 2pm. There's a possibility that there might be an additional viewing opportunity or two at the BCC....so stay tuned. for more info.

*Focused is an overstatement given my various obligations and work and such. Obligations which have prevented me from posting in a timely manner, upcoming events in town, like tonight's openings at the Garrison Art Center, and tomorrow's Second Saturday openings like Peter Bynum at Van Brunt, Dan Weise at Open Space, Sara Mussen at Gallery G, and the grand opening of the Daniel Aubry Gallery. Also, the closing reception and artist talk for WOMS, and I believe there is a Next Step going on at The Piggy Bank. Then, of course, there's the opening reception Sunday of Double Dutch at HVCCA in Peekskill. I'll be lending a hand down ther on Sunday. Admission to the museum is free all weekend. The opening reception is from 4-7pm.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

For those of you interested, The Chinati Foundation is hosting a lecture tonight by Lawrence Weschler on Robert Irwin and David Hockney. Tonight's talk, taking place at the Crowley Theater in Marfa, TX. is being streamed live beginning at 8:30 pm Eastern.Weschler has written biographies on both artists. I've read his book on Irwin, Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: Expanded Editiontwice (most recently, the recently published and expanded 20th Anniv. edition for our book club) and it's given me a buzz each time. A promotional graphic announcing the lecture mimicks boxing poster and includes the frase "WHEN FOUNTAINHEADS COLLIDE" which is ironic given our current book club title is The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War of Words by Deborah Tannen. I've only just begun reading the book in which Tannen enumerates and critiques the development of the confrontational and inflammatory way in which debate is framed in America, degrading any potential for informed and sensible discourse into the polarized point-counterpoint contest with which we're constantly being presented.That Weschler's book on Hockney, True to Life: Twenty-Five Years of Conversations with David Hockneywas born from the artist reaching out to the writer to dispute virtually all the assertions made by Irwin in the first book, one could imagine how such a conflict of sensibilities could easily be transformed by a CNN or FOX News into a true clashing ideology. I imagine, however, all of this is conveyed in a civil manner by the writer. I have not read the Hockney book, but I'm interested to see how Weschler handles Hockney's counters to Irwin. I got a sense from the Irwin book, particularly in the new edition, which includes the very real fray the artist had with Richard Meier in the creation of the gardens of the Getty Center,that Weschler is firmly in Irwin's camp. Take note fellow bookclubbers, the Hockney book is on my list for possible upcoming reads. This all came to my attention by way of Tyler Green's twitter feed.Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and stream the Weschler talk right here tonight:Live video by Ustream

Friday, September 04, 2009

Hang on, here's a lightening round post for a few things that are going on tomorrow.

Collaborative Concepts is opening the 2009 version of Saunders Farm sculpture exhibit. This is the project's fourth year. All of the pertinent details are on the group's 2009 blog. Opening reception is happening from 2-6pm and the show will run thorugh Halloween.

Up in Poughkeepsie, at G.A.S, Franc Palaia has curated an exhibit of work that examines the bridges of the Hudson River. The exhibit, Bridges and the Span of Time includes the work of 50 artists. The opening reception will be happening from 2-9pm.

Blake also created the video for Beck's song Round the Bend, which is mighty purdy.

For some bonus viewing on this long weekend, check out the Tate: Remix videos on the Tate Modern's website. The museum teamed up with B3 Media to commission four spoken word artists and filmmakers to create short films based on their experience of three exhibits. Definitely worth a peek.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

I wandered on up to Ghent, NY yesterday to make a studio visit with Peter Acheson. When I arrived, carpenters were putting siding on the building he's had constructed to store his work. The new building sits next to the small barn in which he paints. This new building holds 20+ years of resolved work, each section of the racks is ordered according to size, material, or vein of work.

There are hundreds of completely different exhibits that could be culled from those sorted racks.